Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are three essential concepts that apply across many topics. DEI efforts often follow a continuum model with equity being defined as the point where people start receiving benefits from DEI activities and feel like part of something bigger than themselves.
People will feel valued for who they are regardless of their identity.
Equity
Diversity and inclusion only works when employees can feel included. This can be accomplished through creating an inclusive culture in which all individuals feel equal opportunity and access to success. When companies make this a priority, positive impacts can begin to emerge – such as hiring from underrepresented groups, improving retention strategies and developing mentorship programs; while also acknowledging certain identities are more privileged than others – such as gender, ethnicity, religion, physical ability sexual orientation or gender identity.
At the core of any successful diverse and inclusive workplace is ensuring each person has equal access to resources they require for academic support or accommodations at work, giving every voice an equal voice, including those often not heard by management.
Even after making their best effort, some individuals still do not feel welcome in the workplace. They feel excluded due to social oppression or discrimination such as racism, sexism or homophobia that prevent them from fitting in properly.
Establishing a diverse and inclusive workplace may not be simple, but it’s essential for the success of your organization. By employing these strategies, your company can become more welcoming to people of various identities while simultaneously improving products and services offered to your clients.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives often go hand-in-hand. Utilizing a common vocabulary will help prevent misinterpretation or confusion of terms while aiding implementation of DEI initiatives.
To ensure your team has an in-depth knowledge of all terms, have each member write down what they understand the meanings to be. Once this exercise has concluded, discuss and use its results to create your company’s DEI strategy. While the definitions may evolve over time, strive always for maximum fairness and equality when formulating DEI strategies.
Inclusion
People from diverse backgrounds bring unique perspectives to the workplace, which can help businesses discover innovative solutions to complex issues and build more effective products for customers. If these differences aren’t properly utilized, however, they could become liabilities rather than assets.
Attaining diversity and inclusion (DEI) requires the commitment of employees across an organization. That means creating an environment of acceptance and respect, prioritizing equity when planning D&I initiatives and giving all employees equal access to opportunities that will help them thrive in their workplace.
Inclusion is a broad concept that encompasses many of the same aspects as diversity, such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. But inclusion goes further by creating an environment in which all can feel included and valued; this may involve revoking implicit bias (stuff that happens unknowingly that influences behavior) as well as mitigating microaggressions, or negative actions against individuals.
Companies that prioritize inclusion will create an inclusive workforce that better represents society as a whole, making their customers and clients feel represented within the way the business operates. Furthermore, this environment fosters better working relationships among employees as they collaborate more efficiently together while providing them with opportunities to develop professionally.
An inclusive workplace encourages sharing cultural heritages and traditions in the workplace, recognizes holidays and events, and allows its employees to discuss personal matters with one another – this gives those who might feel left out a sense of belonging in the work culture.
DEI has emerged as a cornerstone of corporate social responsibility and transformed how organizations do business. For it to be effective, however, all employees must understand its concepts; otherwise their efforts could prove counterproductive or even harmful to those most in need of support in the workplace.
As the language surrounding diversity and inclusion (D&I) evolves quickly, it’s crucial that everyone involved be clear when using specific terms. Our glossary of terminology can serve as a valuable guide in leading discussions around D&I in your company.
Diversity
Diversity encompasses all of the ways people differ, such as their race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, national origin, religion disability education marital status socioeconomic status and language. Recognizing and appreciating differences is vital in creating an inclusive workplace culture while giving organizations an edge in competitive markets by tapping into employees’ unique perspectives and ideas.
Studies indicate that companies that prioritize diversity tend to be more successful. Three McKinsey studies found that companies with diverse executive teams are 33 percent more profitable. By making sure all voices are heard, organizations can form stronger teams and cultivate a culture where everyone feels supported and appreciated.
Focusing on diversity for its own sake may have unintended repercussions, including homogeneity. When organizations solely emphasize diversity without also emphasizing inclusion, employees may feel alienated and isolated from one another as it may come across as inauthentic or shallow when solely focused on visible characteristics like race.
Diversity requires an in-depth knowledge of what makes people different, an acknowledgment of inequities and power dynamics, a dedication to social justice and an eagerness to confront assumptions, practices, beliefs that lead to discrimination or oppression. To be truly inclusive, diversity needs to go hand-in-hand with greater understanding about why differences occur between individuals.
Diversity also requires a clear definition of the term and how to measure it. A company may set itself a goal of having a specific number of women on its board or management staff; but if this goal is only monitored at senior management levels and doesn’t factor into employee performance reviews, efforts may not yield optimal results and employees could feel their diversity isn’t prioritized at the company, potentially prompting them to seek more welcoming environments elsewhere. Therefore, senior leadership must embrace diversity and inclusion efforts and show visible support of this effort by remaining visible during efforts that support it.
Community
Public service workers tend to be drawn to helping others. They strive to make our world a better place, knowing that treating all citizens fairly and providing equal access to opportunities for success in society will ultimately benefit all citizens. Unfortunately, however, this is not always the case as diversity, equity and inclusion may face various barriers both nationally and locally.
Diverse factors contribute to inequality, from physical roadblocks that prevent able-bodied people from accessing certain areas to stereotypes that prevent some groups from feeling like they belong. By understanding more about these issues and developing ways to avoid them, one is better equipped to tackle them head on. That is why it is vitally important to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion with a diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds and experiences.
First step to creating an effective dialogue is identifying a shared vocabulary for discussion. Words may have very different meanings to individuals; without an agreed upon language or shared understanding of key concepts, any differences may lead to miscommunication and misinterpretation. By compiling a glossary of terms for key topics of dialogue, a better understanding will emerge among participants.
Start discussions by asking everyone in your group to write down their understanding of each term privately, before collecting all definitions and comparing them together to see which terms have more widely shared interpretation. You may discover concepts which require further exploration or which may need further investigation by creating a database of shared understanding.
Not everyone understands what gender identity differs from gender expression. You could also introduce the idea of patriarchy – which refers to beliefs and actions that promote masculinity – when discussing these topics.
As part of your conversation, having this dialogue will enable you to make better-informed decisions on how best to support the inclusion of diverse groups in your community or workplace. It will enable you to determine what activities should be invested in to create an inclusive community as well as infrastructure needed to sustain those efforts – for instance convening a community council where information from different groups may be reviewed, analyzed, and summarized for your benefit.